Sunday/Monday Brunch

The weekend is over, well almost over.  There are two more loads of laundry to do before it’s officially over.  Today was basically driving home, which took about six and a half hours.  We caught up with Scotty and Emily in Lakeview, while picking up a few groceries for dinner.  That was a special treat.

Yesterday was full of doing all the tourist things there are to do in Sumpter.  Ok, there are really only two things, but we did them both.

We started out by taking a ride on the Historic Sumpter Valley Railroad. 

This railroad dates back to 1890 and was built to haul timber and gold from the mining town of Sumpter.

Scott was so cute, I have to show you part of this picture blown up.

He wore his Burlington Northern Railroad hat that he packed especially for this part of the trip.  He was just as excited as the little kids were.

We boarded the train in Sumpter and it was all downhill from there, literally.  The trip to McEwen is downhill from Sumpter. 

I think because the weather was yucky there were not that many people on the train.  We were lucky that we were able to sit inside one of the enclosed cars.

Once we reached McEwen, the engine unhooks from the front of the train, switches tracks, goes around behind the train and stocks up for the return trip.

First, the engineer fills the boiler with water from the long metal tube.  Then he loads the engine with wood for fuel, to heat up the water, to make the steam, to make the engine go.

That lasted about 3/4 of the way back and then we ran out steam.  It took about 15 minutes to build up more steam.  We were about a half hour late getting back to the station.

While we were waiting on the steam, the Conductor came around and punched all our tickets.

The train ride was fun.  It would also be nice to do it in the good weather and sit out in one of the open cars.  There were a few brave souls who took that ride, but they were mostly children.

After the train ride, we headed over to the dredge and took a tour of that part of the Sumpter history.

Because we were late getting back on the train, we had to head over to the dredge fast in order to catch the last tour of the day.  The history of this type of gold mining is fascinating.  I can’t believe how people come up with huge pieces of machinery.

We had a great weekend.  We bought a few treasures at the swap meet.  We ate Philly Cheesesteaks and elephant ears.  We toured some history. We got away for the weekend.  It was so nice to have four days away, not having to think about anything else.

This week, baseball starts.  I can’t wait to share that all with you.

Rain, Snow, and Crazy Finds

I am having a hard time believing that it is three days away from June.  It rained and snowed here all day.  In some ways that was good because it kept the crowds down, but in other ways, I am sure that not all the swap meet vendors had all of their goods out.  I just know that the one thing I need is in this town, just hiding somewhere.  I am not sure what it is, but I will know it when I see it.

After sleeping in this morning (I never imagined that sleeping in would mean 6:30am), we showered, ate breakfast, and headed down at 8:00am to check out everything.  You know how when you have a garage sale and you say it opens at 8:00am and people start showing up at 7:00?  I just kept thinking about this the whole time we were eating our bagels.  Not to worry.  Apparently, nobody even uncovers their booth until around 9:00am.  We ended up coming back to the cabin for an hour and then going back down.

It didn’t take long before we found a few things.

After filling his new found box full with goodies, we decided to go drop this off at the truck and put on our jackets.

If we ever had a need for a wagon wheel, this would have been the place to get it.

I had to be sure to get a pie from the Powder River Rural Fire Protection District Women’s Auxiliary Pie Sale.  Raspberry Rhubarb pie anyone?

Here we are heading to the second swap meet location in town.  By this time the hail had really started.  Since it was mostly hail, we didn’t really get wet because it just bounced off. 

Only at a swap meet would Scott let me buy a squirrel feeder.  Now we just need to teach the dogs not to chase the squirrels.

This was absolutely my find of the day!  I know what you are probably thinking, what the heck do you do with an old drawer?  Oh, I have been looking for one of these for years for a craft project I have wanted to do.  I was so excited when I saw this buried in this guys pile of crap!  I didn’t even haggle for it. $25 was a steal.  I think the guy realized he could have gotten a lot more out of me.

We spent about five hours rummaging around and ended up with a back seat full of stuff.  Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be nicer, meaning it might get up to 50 degrees, which is much higher than the today’s high of 35.  We plan to make another sweep of town and maybe check out the railroad and dredge.

For dinner tonight, we drove about an hour over to Haines.  This is a pretty good steak house and figured that since we were in the neighborhood, it would be a great place to eat dinner.

Now it’s time to break out that pie and enjoy a quiet evening in the cabin.

One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure

That’s my motto for this weekend.  It’s finally here, our weekend away to Sumpter.  We have been looking forward to this weekend since we made our reservations in January.  The Sumpter Memorial Day Weekend Swap Meet.  What will we find this year?

Since we are gone all weekend, we decided to board the dogs at the local vet’s office.  Nick is staying at the house since he is on his week off, but we thought it would be less work if he didn’t have to worry about Daisy and Mack.

It was pouring down rain this morning as Scott packed the truck and loaded the dogs into the back to take to town.  (I have no idea why Daisy looks cross-eyed in this picture.)  The dogs are always excited to go to the vet were we board them.  I think they get away with a lot more than they do at home.  It’s like when you were a kid and you got to spend the weekend at your grandparent’s house.

We expected that it would be busy on the roads today, and were not surprised when we got stuck in a traffic jam in Silver Lake.

 

Once we got past all this traffic, we realized what part of the hold up was.

This picture, for some reason, makes me think of the Wizard of Oz.  Yes, that house is driving directly into the storm.

Along the way, we saw our share of wildlife, including these four elk that Scott spotted from a mile away.

Our first real stop was to Skeins:

This is a great yarn shop just outside of John Day.  The selection is great and the lady who owns it is so friendly.  I have looked forward to coming back to this shop for the last two years.  I was not disappointed this year.

Got enough to get started on my Christmas presents.

Next stop was the Kam Wah Chung State Park in John Day.  This park is primarily an old house that has been converted into a museum. 

Inside is exactly as it was left in the 1940’s after two chinese men ran a medical office and mercantile for over 60 years in it.  When the last one died in the 1940’s, the house was locked up, not to be opened again for more than 20 years.  Everything on display in the house is exactly where it was found when the house was reopened.  We took a small tour, as the actual tourist season doesn’t start for a couple of more weeks.  I would recommend this spot for anyone passing through John Day.  You don’t have to plan for more than an hour at the most.

After a late lunch / early dinner in Prairie City, and a quick trip to the small town market to get snacks for the weekend, we got back on the road for the final stretch. 

We were pleasantly surprised to roll in while it was still daylight.  We had figured that, with all the stops, it would take longer to get here.  But at last we are here.

The Lazy Moose Cabin.  Our home for the next three nights.  Driving through town, the swap meet vendors were starting to get set up.  Hopefully, this rain will hold off just a bit so that it’s not miserable to be walking around. 

And maybe, if we’re lucky, it will get warm enough that we can enjoy a few minutes out on the porch.

Sunday Brunch

I have this feeling that this is the last of the quiet weekends before the rush of the summer begins.  Don’t get me wrong, I love summer.  I love the fact the sun stays out late, sometimes much later than I am able to make it.  I love the running around on the weekends in a rush to get everything done.  I love spending time with my husband and going on all our little adventures (the first of which happens to be next weekend).

This year, on top of everything, we bought season tickets to our local baseball team.

You want to know one of my favorite things about small town baseball, the mascot.  Our mascot is literally a carton of French fries named “Tater”.  Most people outside of our town don’t know that a Gem is a type of potato, hence the fries.  It kinda loses something when you have to explain it.  Anyway, the season starts in 11 days and we are so looking forward to nights at the ball field.

Some people have asked why the draw to baseball.  it’s a boring sport, with little physical contact.  The beauty of a baseball game is just that. It’s relaxing.  You sit outside on a warm summer evening, with a breeze blowing, eating hot dog, drinking a beer, carrying on a conversation with your seat-mate, and every once in a while someone makes a great play or hits a home run and the crowd goes wild.  After a long day at work you don’t have to concentrate or think about anything.  What’s not to love about that?!

In order to get ready for the busy summer, Scott and I spent the past few days doing household projects.  Scott is desperately trying to fix the underground sprinkler system.  Nothing good to report on that, but stay tuned.  At least the yard got mowed yesterday, even if it can’t get watered.

We cleaned out the garage and the closets to get prepared for our upcoming family garage sale.  This was a project, but a much needed one.  After three full days of cleaning, organizing, updating, and maintaining, there is somehow still a list of things to do.  I am actually grateful for the list.  It means that we are blessed to have our own house and the ability to make it nice. 

Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend.  For most people it is a three-day weekend.  I am taking Friday off from work so that we will have a four-day weekend.  We made plans in January for this weekend.  It is something that we have been looking forward to for a long time.  Next week, we may have to meet on Monday, depending on how busy Sunday is (and if we are in a spot to get cell reception).

I promise next week to have more pictures.  This week, neither of us had a free hand most of the time.  Plus, the projects we were working on weren’t that fun to photograph.  But starting this week, that’s all about to change.

Sunday Brunch

Why does it feel like the weekends come and go so much faster than the work week?  Two days off is not enough time to cram in all the things that we need/want to do.  Lucky for us down here, it’s snowing/hailing/raining this weekend, so that makes it easier to get the inside stuff done.  (that was sarcasm in case you didn’t pick on that)

Scott asked me the other day if I had seen the spring deer around.  We have a group that travel across our property in the spring and fall.  Now that the snow is melting they are heading back up the mountain for the summer. 

To answer his question, yes I saw them:

They have discovered the birdfeeder. 

Then she saw me:

Then Scott saw her and he didn’t think it was so cute.  He opened the window and yelled at her to keep moving:

She pretended to care that he was yelling at her, but then changed her mind within a few feet:

Only to come back again for another snack:

I love this game that we play every spring and fall.  To me, it’s a part of the changing of the seasons.

Speaking of changing of the seasons (metaphorically speaking of course!), I have to share a wonderful experience that I had at work this week.  I have never really had a mentor, you know, someone that you really look up to and try to emulate at work.  Someone that you can go to for help with being a better employee.  That one person that you want to impress more than anyone else. 

That being said, I do have someone that I strive to follow in her footsteps and for a few hours this week, I had the honor of sitting with her and listening to her stories.

This is Sam and Elsie.  They were instrumental in starting the volunteer fire department in our town in the late 1940’s.  Sam was the first “Fireman of the Year” in 1954.  I didn’t know this until Elsie told me the story.  She said she would never forget that because they lived across the street from the fire station, and she was pregnant with their daughter, when Sam came home to tell her about the honor.

She was officially hired by the Fire District in 1960.  That was 50 years ago!!!  She spent almost 30 years working for the Fire District.  The older generation of firefighters remember working with her.  That’s always a special moment to see them with her when we all get together.  You can see the respect they have for her.  It’s the look that we all strive to get from others.

In moving into our temporary facility, we found a box of old photos that were not labeled in any way.  There are very few people around that could help us solve the mystery of who these people were.  We contacted Sam and Elsie and asked them for their help.  Elsie, of course, jumped at the chance to come down to the office.  She always says that she misses working.

We sat for a couple of hours and looked through some of the photos.  Every photo brought back a story.  Kim and I tried to catch as much of it as possible.

We asked question after question.  I know that Elsie would have stayed all day, but Sam was good for about an hour.  Hopefully, we can get together again and look at a few more pictures.  The history that these two have between them is immeasurable. 

For me, the opportunity to sit with Elsie, even for just a couple of hours, was priceless.  She is the type of person that I strive to be.  There are times at work with I ask myself, would Elsie be proud of me?

I hope that you have someone in your life that inspires you to be a better person, either at work or in your personal life.  This meeting with Elsie was definitely the highlight of my week.  A couple of hours that I won’t soon forget.

Well, there are cupcakes in the kitchen to be frosted, laundry to be folded, and dinner to be started.  Just a few more hours to relax until the work week starts.

Have a wonderful week.  We’ll catch up next weekend.

Sunday Brunch

I apologize up front if our meeting today comes out a little confusing.  I am currently on a muscle relaxant.  For someone who doesn’t even take an Advil for a headache, this is extra relaxing.  I’ll explain more, but first things first.

Scott has been out of town for the past few days attending his niece Jenny’s college graduation.  Jenny graduated from Washington State University in Spokane with a Doctorate of Pharmacy.  Wow, we have a doctor in the family!

After graduation, the gang all headed to a fancy Italian restaurant.  Jenny had to make reservations last December! Congratulation Jenny.  All your hard work has finally paid off.

It was great for Scott to visit with his family.

He got home last night, with enough time to unload his dirty laundry and enjoy homemade pizza.

Did I mention that I recently acquired a bread machine.  I love it!  We have been experimenting with all different versions of bread.  Yesterday we made fresh pizza dough.  It was seriously some of the best pizza we have had in a long time.  Tonight is a standard white bread to go along with the homemade baked potato soup.

This past week’s weather gave me the excuse to get out the Capri pants and sandals.  (Sorry for the blinding white legs) The flowers are starting to bloom.  It’s still a month away from being able to plant the garden though.

The flowers hold a special meaning to me:

My friend Kate gave them to me as bulbs.  See, Kate is a self-proclaimed bulb hoarder.  Those are her words, not mine.  Last fall she arrived at bookclub with a trunk full of bulbs that she had bought.  She said that she couldn’t take them home.  Her husband would kill her for buying more.  She begged us to take them, but also added that we had to promise to plant them.

I put these bulbs in my large washbasin that sits on our front walk.  It is full of flowers during the summer, but sits empty and sad looking the rest of the year.  We planted the bulbs.  Something dug them up.  We replanted them.  Something dug them up.  We replanted them.  This became a game.  At one point we were going to set up Scotty’s critter cam to see if we could catch the critter in the act.  I am making a point here.  These are the flowers that survived the digging up and replanting.

I can see these flowers from the kitchen sink window.  They bring a smile to my face when I see them. 

I tell you this story because Kate just told us that she has breast cancer and is going up to Portland in a few weeks to have major surgery.  Kate is always such a positive person and I know in my heart that everything will be ok.  But when I look at these flowers, I smile and think of her.  I think of that night standing by the trunk of her car loading them up in grocery bags.  I think of the silly things that we laugh about at bookclub.  I think about the things that I have learned from Kate.

My plan for the flowers is to dig them up when they are done blooming and replanting them in the fall so they will bloom again next spring!  They will always be known to me as “Kate’s flowers”.

Today is Mother’s Day.  Scott had to work so we had a nice dinner last weekend.  I got up this morning and read the Sunday paper while enjoying a fresh cup of coffee.  Then I put on my yard digging clothes and headed down to the lower part of the yard.  I know have three full buckets of goodies I have dug up. 

After sitting on the hard, uneven ground, in a pretty awkward position for most of the time, I decided it was time to head in and take a shower.  I stood up, took two steps, picked up my bucket, took one more step, and my back completely froze up.  I dropped to my knees in pain.  I wasn’t sure that I could get back up.  All I could think is that no one would stop to help me because they are used to me sitting out in the yard and they would just continue to drive by thinking that nothing was wrong. My next thought was that my husband was a work, which basically means that everyone I know within a ten mile radius was also at work.

After a minute or two, I was able to get back up on my feet.  Thinking that I just needed to stretch, I took a couple of steps.  I could literally feel my back muscles freeze up with every movement.  My back muscles were locked and my legs were moving anywhere.  I dropped to my knees again.

I crawled most of the way back to the house until I reached the sidewalk.  The dogs got a real kick out of it.  They totally thought I was playing with them.

I finally made it back inside and into a hot shower.  I called Scott at work and told him that I could barely move.  Fortunately he has the sick time to take.   He came home to take care of me.  He’s in making dinner right now.  I have a pretty good husband!

Hopefully these muscle relaxants will help.  They certainly aren’t hurting anything, that’s for sure!  This just wasn’t how I planned on spending my Sunday.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!  I hope you got to spend your Sunday doing something that you enjoy.

Sunday Brunch

The sun is finally shining!  Oh, what a beautiful weekend this turned out to be.  Happy May Day, by the way.  I counted today and seven of the 200 daffodil bulbs that Nick and I planted actually bloomed this year.  Most of them came up with greenery, but only seven bloomed.  Hmmm, do you know why that is?

I can finally tell you about the project that Kim and I were involved in at work.  We call it Operation Prom Night.  I couldn’t tell you much about it earlier because we are sworn to secrecy until the presentation.  Here is a very brief overview.

1,100 students from three local high schools gathered at one football field to witness a recreation of a head-on collision between a drunk driver (one of their fellow students) and a driver that was texting (a local teacher). 

In this scenario, the drunk driver walks away, but his girlfriend was not so lucky.  She was pretty much dead when emergency crews arrived on scene.  The important part of the presentation is to make things look as real as possible.  Just like a real incident, our crews arrived and tried to help her, with no results.

She would lay on the football field throughout the rest of the presentation.  The second male in the car would be taken to the “emergency room” on the other side of the football field where his real parents would be told about the extent of his injuries. 

The second girl in the car was not so lucky.  She would eventually be extricated from the car and taken away in the Emergency Airlift helicopter.

Again, her real parents would arrive at the “emergency room” where they were told that she died in the helicopter.  This presentation was very moving, even though I knew what was coming up.  I am pretty sure that we left a memory on some of the kids.  It was just good to be a part of something that brought together people who, on a normal day give each other a hard time, i.e. the relationship between cops and firefighters, and watch them work together on a common goal to make an impression on the young generation.  My role in all this was to act as the Public Information Officer.

This role put me in charge of the media who attended.  In addition, I had my fifteen minutes of fame on the local news.

I do have to be honest and say that I purposely did not watch the news that night because I didn’t want to see myself.

Since we are on the topic of famous people (like that transition), did you watch the Royal Wedding?  I did not feel that anyone would want to be around me if I got up at 1:00am to watch and then go on to go to work.  It would make for a very long day.  Instead, I DVR’d it, but I still have not watched the actual wedding.  I pretty much get the idea of what happened based on all the news I have seen.

In honor of the Royal Wedding, I wore a tiara all day on Friday.

I also insisted that anyone who wanted something from me had to ask me using their best British accent.  Needless to say, I didn’t have to do much on Friday.  I really couldn’t get anyone to go along with it.  By the way, the beautiful bouquet of flowers came from my husband for Administrative Professional's day.

My sister is turning 40 this year.  I won’t say anything bad about turning 40 because I am not far behind.  For her birthday, she and I went to see Wicked at the Hult Center in Eugene.

Not the best picture, but I was trying to sneak it before the usher reminded us that there were no photos allowed.  We had so much fun!  We had an amazing dinner at The Electric Station and then walked the block over to the play.  This is easily my favorite play and last night’s show did not disappoint.

Visiting my sister and her family allowed me to catch one of my niece’s six little league softball games this morning.

They won all three games yesterday and were playing in the winner’s bracket today.

Oh, these girls know how to have a good time.  Overhearing some of the things these 12/13 year-olds say in the dugout takes me back 25 years.

While I was away, the boys were playing.  Scotty came over to visit, and cut down a couple of sketchy trees on our property.

Yes, this is definitely a guy thing.  I love the way they look proud like they conquered the trees.  Boys and their toys.

The weather forecast is promising for the week.  I get to stay home for a while.  Scott, on the other hand, is headed out at the end of the week for a family adventure.  You will have to tune in later for more on that.

They say April showers bring May flowers.  (Around here, we don’t dare plant flowers until the first weekend in June)  Hopefully the sun will be making more of an appearance this month.

Have a great week and we will meet back here the same time next week!